E-garments, sometimes referred to as “smart” textiles, that enable electronic circuitry such as computers, sensors, transceivers and so on. These circuits and devices require power to operate, and therefore a battery (rechargeable) is provided in the garment to power the circuitry and devices. However, it is desirable to minimize the size of the battery as these component tend to be bulky and weighty. Opposing this design goal, however, is the is the goal to maximize operating time between battery recharge cycles, which tends to encourage using larger, bulkier batteries.
Accordingly, there is a need for a way to increase the operating time of a battery used for powering circuitry in an e-garment that does not unduly add to the bulk of the e-garment.
Those skilled in the field of the present disclosure will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. The details of well-known elements, structure, or processes that would be necessary to practice the embodiments, and that would be well known to those of skill in the art, are not necessarily shown and should be assumed to be present unless otherwise indicated.